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Following the arrival of Valerien Ismael at West Bromwich Albion this summer, a manager who has something of a reputation for developing younger talents, Albion fans would have undoubtedly been expecting to see a number of the club’s academy prospects breaking into the Frenchman’s first-team squad.

And, while youngsters such as Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Ethan Ingram, Caleb Taylor, Tom Fellows, Toby King, Quevin, Rico Richards, Mo Faal and Rayhaan Tulloch have all featured for the senior side already this season, West Brom have also sanctioned the departures of a couple of highly-rated talents, including Rekeem Harper and Finley Thorndike – the latter of whom recently joined Aston Villa.

Indeed, the decision to release Thorndike could well be a call that the club and Ismael come to regret, as the attacking midfielder would very much appear to be a player who boasts a significant amount of potential.

Big mistake

While Thorndike failed to make a first-team appearance for the Baggies, the 19-year-old nevertheless impressed during his time while playing for the various West Brom youth sides.

Indeed, over his 29 appearances for the U18s, the attacking midfielder scored 11 goals and registered one assist, as well as scoring three goals and providing one assist over his 16 fixtures with the U23 team – which the youngster was promoted to at the beginning of last season.

Furthermore, the man Aston Villa academy manager Mark Harrison dubbed a “creative” player has already demonstrated his ability for Villa’s U23 side, scoring one goal and registering one assist over his three Premier League 2 appearances for his new side.

As such, considering Ismael’s reputation of helping young players establish themselves in his first team, it would certainly appear as if Thorndike would have been a player the Frenchman could have worked wonders with.

And, should the 19-year-old be able to maintain his fine form for Villa’s U23 side over the course of the season, it would not be surprising to see the midfielder in and around the club’s senior squad towards the end of the current campaign – something that would certainly cause a great deal of regret for everyone involved with West Brom, as well as confirming that letting the teenager go was a big mistake.

In other news: West Brom dealt crushing blow on “brilliant” £4.4k-p/w ace, Ismael will be devastated

Basnahira North win the final of the 2008-09 Inter-Provincial tournament

Sa'adi Thawfeeq25-Mar-2009In-form batsman Angelo Mathews and allrounder Muthumudalige Pushpakumara fashioned a comprehensive three-day victory for Basnahira North in the four-day final against Wayamba played at the R Premadasa Stadium.The performances of these two promising stars proved too much for Wayamba, who managed modest totals of 223 and 181 to hand Basnahira North a comfortable ten-wicket win shortly before tea on the third day.Wayamba’s decision to bat first didn’t work out the way they figured as they lost their first six wickets for 139 and only a plucky knock of 70 off 102 balls by the legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi lifted them to 223. The right-arm fast bowler Daminda Darshanpriya did most of the damage, taking five wickets.Basnahira North also began badly, ending the first day at 93 for 4, which soon became 96 for 5 when Gayan Wijekoon was dismissed cheaply in the second over the following morning. But Mathews, who had watched the collapse from the other end, found a useful partner in Pushpakumara. The pair went on to resurrect the innings with a magnificent partnership of 185 for the sixth wicket that eventually turned out to be a match-winning one. Basnahira North recovered to post a total of 389, giving them a first-innings lead of 166.Mathews once again displayed his true potential, scoring his third century of the tournament in five matches (152 of 275 balls) and Pushpakumara complimented him with 103 off 146 balls.Wayamba responded well to the challenge in their second innings when the openers Michael Vandort and Mahela Udawatte posted a stand of 66. But once the Mathews-Pushpakumara combination had initiated the breakthrough – sending back Udawatte – Wayamba’s innings slumped and lasted just 58 overs. Pushpakumara followed his fine century by picking up four wickets with his off breaks – three of them from the top order – to round off an excellent match.While Mathews finished as the top run-getter in the tournament with 746 runs at 93.25, Pushpakumara ended up as the leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets (avg. 22.38) to go with his contribution of 316 runs (avg. 52.66) with the bat.

Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas doesn’t want to return to Greece, according to journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos. 

The Lowdown: Barkas’ summer

Barkas who cost the Hoops £4.5m last summer, made a costly mistake against FC Midtjylland in the first leg of Celtic’s Champions League qualifier and hasn’t featured since.

Celtic have signed Joe Hart this summer from Tottenham and were reportedly happy to let Barkas depart either on loan or in a permanent deal.

However, it seems as if the player doesn’t fancy leaving the club late in the window.

The Latest: Chorianopoulos post

Greek reporter Chorianopoulos was asked by @aboutceltic for an update over a possible exit regarding Barkas late on Monday evening.

He replied, admitting the goalkeeper’s agents have worked for an offer with PAOK interested. However, Barkas doesn’t want to return to Greece at this moment in time, according to Chorianopoulos.

“No sign at the moment that Barkas will leave Celtic. Even though his agents worked for an offer, at the moment nothing concrete. PAOK were interested, but Barkas doesn’t want to come back. Let’s see…”

The Verdict: One to move on?

With Hart arriving earlier in the window and establishing himself as first choice under Ange Postecoglou, it could make sense to move a goalkeeper on.

At the minute, Postecoglou has Barkas, Scott Bain and Conor Hazard all sitting around at Parkhead, so moving one out on loan or on a permanent could be the right idea.

However, that doesn’t look as if it will be Barkas at this moment in time.

In other news: McKay may land ‘giant’ defender for Celtic and Ange on deadline day; same agency as Griffiths. 

Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes that Aston Villa were signing both Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey regardless of whether the club kept Jack Grealish or not this summer. 

Villa signed Buendia for fellow Premier League side Norwich City for a fee that according to Sky Sports could rise to £38m. Last season’s Championship Player of the Season penned a five-year deal at Villa Park and has started the new Premier League campaign featuring in all three of his new club’s matches, getting himself on the score-sheet against Brentford.

Leon Bailey put pen to paper on a deal that will run until 2025 with Aston Villa, with the club paying Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen £25m. The winger featured in his new club’s opening game of the season against Watford and provided an assist for John McGinn’s goal.

Hatfield believes that even if Jack Grealish had stayed with Aston Villa, both Buendia and Bailey would have been signed by the club, telling Transfer Tavern: “Buendia and Bailey, I think they were going to come in regardless.”

Villa had a good summer in terms of incomings to the football club as alongside Buendia and Bailey, the club also signed Danny Ings, Ashley Young and Axel Tuanzebe. Since their opening day defeat to Watford, Villa have collected four points from a possible six, with a victory against Newcastle United and then a draw against Premier League newcomers Brentford.

Arsenal have suffered a major blow ahead of their Premier League clash against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Mikel Arteta’s side got their campaign off to the worst possible start by losing 2-0 in their opening game against newly-promoted Brentford last Friday, and the fixture list hasn’t done them any favours whatsoever.

The Gunners take on the reigning Champions League holders in a London derby in their first clash in front of a full crowd at the Emirates this afternoon, and they will have to do so without the services of one of their main men in Alexandre Lacazette.

The Frenchman missed the game against Brentford along with strike partner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and it was later revealed that the duo had contracted a viral infection.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the Blues today, Arteta admitted that the 30-year-old’s recovery in particular hasn’t been smooth sailing. He said: “They’ve had some tough days. Lacazette still hasn’t trained as he’s not been good. Aubameyang trained yesterday but they were affected by the virus – they were ill.”

That followed on from an earlier club statement which confirmed: “Alex is still recovering and will not be available for Sunday’s match.”

While Lacazette may not be the most prolific striker the Gunners have ever had, he still played a vital role for them last season, scoring 17 goals in all competitions, including in the 3-1 victory over Chelsea back on Boxing Day.

His absence, coupled with those of Aubameyang and Eddie Nketiah, saw the Gunners’ young striker Folarin Balogun thrown into the deep end against Brentford, and it appears that could well be the case once again today.

The 20-year-old had a difficult Premier League debut to say the least, managing just 14 touches of the ball and completing only three passes in his 59 minutes on the pitch.

Arteta’s latest update on Lacazette is sure to have Arsenal fans very worried about how their team will perform today.

Meanwhile, David Ornstein has dropped an exciting Arsenal transfer claim on Sky Sports…

In the end, Arsenal’s dismal 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League was not in the least bit surprising.

Mikel Arteta’s side were bullied by their London rivals, with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Reece James enough to consign the Gunners to two defeats from their opening two games, with a lack of attacking threat also ensuring that thhey remain goalless too.

While Pablo Mari’s tough day at the office will be the focus of much of the post-match attention, his teammate Kieran Tierney produced one of his poorest displays in an Arsenal shirt.

The Scotland international looked all at sea in trying to cope with James down the right-hand side whilst having to be his usual attacking threat going the other way.

As per Sofascore, Tierney lost 100% of his duels over the course of the game, made no tackles and lost possession 14 times – only Nicolas Pepe lost the ball on more occasions with 15, and that’s despite the Ivorian playing the full 90 minutes, unlike the Scot.

While he gave it his usual effort and commitment, Chelsea’s tactics completely caught Tierney in a muddle, with the former Celtic man providing no successful crosses as he tried to venture forward.

It was no surprise then that Chelsea eventually took advantage of Tierney’s troubles for the second goal, with Mason Mount’s run infield drawing the Scot too far inside, allowing James to burst down on the overlap and fire past Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for The Evening Standard, Simon Collings gave him a four, saying: “One of his worst games for Arsenal. In fairness, he wasn’t given much help – but James did have a field day down his side.”

In a flat performance as an entire team, Tierney’s lacklustre display was particularly shocking, especially given just how well he performed against Brentford last week when he created a whopping six key chances.

Arteta will no doubt be feeling let down by the left-back’s performance on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could sign their new Fabregas in this star…

A round-up for the third day’s play of the fourth-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League

Cricinfo staff02-Dec-2008
Scorecard
It took Bengal only 28.2 overs on the third day to get six points and move into second place in Group B. Tripura resumed with five wickets in hand needing another 108 runs to make Bengal bat again, but lost captain Tushar Saha, lbw to Ashok Dinda, in the third over of the day.Nishit Shetty, top scorer in the first-innings, and wicketkeeper Rajib Dutta then made half-centuries to raise Tripura’s hopes of at least avoiding an innings defeat. They had put on 78 before medium-pacer Avik Chowdhury struck; he took three wickets in less than three overs to hasten Tripura’s defeat – the last four wickets fell for 11 runs.This is Bengal’s second successive innings victory after they had opened their campaign with a draw against Madhya Pradesh.Bengal captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla said his team was to continue the good run after back-to-back wins. “Everybody has done well in this match (against Tripura),” he told Kolkata-based, the . “We have played well but I still believe that there is room for improvement.”He said he was also expecting a tough fight against Assam up next. “Assam match will be a tough tie – a very important match. But if we can stay positive and continue the momentum, I am sure we will do well in Guwahati also.”Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary and Dinda were fined 60% and 50% of their match fees respectively, after match referee KVSD Kamaraju found them guilty of a level 2 offence. While Tiwary was reported by the umpires for showing dissent after being given out lbw on Sunday, Dinda was charged on Monday after intentionally throwing the ball back at a batsman, though there was no chance of a run out.
Scorecard
Madhya Pradesh’s position as frontrunners is threatened by Bengal’s charge but a superb third day in Delhi left MP well-placed to gain a seven-point cushion at the top of the table.They started off by dismantling the Services lower order, getting the last five wickets for 33 runs in under 18 overs. Then their batsmen, riding on the back of Jalaj Saxena’s century, ran up 240 in 66 overs setting Services a target of 324 in little more than a day. Saxena was the star but there were important cameos from the other batsmen as well, opener Himalaya Sagar making 45, a score matched by Devendra Bundela, and captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar chipping in with 36.MP further strengthened their position by taking two wickets in the five overs before stumps.
Scorecard
Kerala secured their first win of the season by beating bottom-placed Jammu and Kashmir in Palakkad. Kerala now have nine points from four games while J&K remain on one point.J&K began the day well, moving to 108 for 2 with the help of a half-century from Ian Dev Singh and 44 from Manoj Joglekar. It was all downhill from there though as none of their other batsmen made significant contributions. They lost wickets periodically and crumbled to 199 all out. Medium-pacer K Anil Kumar was the most effective of the Kerala bowlers, finishing with 3 for 25.Kerala had little trouble knocking off the 85 needed to win, reaching the target in the 23rd over after Sambasiva Sarma top scored with 36.Sony Cheruvathur, the Kerala captain, said he was pleased with the win and the momentum his team would be carrying into the next game against Jharkhand. “This win could not have come at a better time and I thought every player contributed,” he told the . “Of course, it was Rohan and Tinu who really brought us back into the match. The way Rohan batted with the tail was remarkable.”
Scorecard
It was an enthralling battle for the first-innings lead in Nagpur. Vidarbha had been reduced to 269 for 9, 30 runs short of Assam’s total but last man Umesh Yadav hung on for 70 minutes to allow No. 6 Shrikant Wagh to make his maiden century and the crucial runs for Vidarbha that are likely to fetch them three points.It was Vidharbha who held the advantage mid-way through the day, having moved to 224 for 5 with the help of Shalabh Shrivastava’s 68, his highest first-class score. Medium-pacer Krishna Das almost single-handedly brought Assam back into the match, taking five wickets to slice through the Vidharbha lower order but was unable to prise out the final wicket Assam needed.
Scorecard
After conceding a 97-run first-innings lead in Rohtak, Goa had fought their way back by reducing Haryana to 129 for 7, but unbeaten half-centuries from Dhruv Singh and Amit Mishra helped the hosts regain control.Haryana lost both their openers within the day’s first eight overs and struggled to string together meaningful partnerships. The wickets kept falling at regular intervals and when two went down in the space of eight balls, Haryana were seven down and only 228 ahead. Dhruv and Mishra, who had added 82 in the first innings, did even better this time; Dhruv helped himself to eight fours on his way to 68 while Mishra made his ninth half-century to swell the lead to 349 by the end of the day.Dodda Ganesh, the Goa coach, believed securing a win would be tough. “I think there’s no chance of us going out for victory, ” he told the . “Our main objective would now be to play the whole day and force a draw.”He was confident though, that a draw in this match, would still keep Goa in the hunt for a spot in the semi-finals. “If we eke out a draw against Haryana we can still earn a point and stay on par with them in terms of points. This will give us an opportunity to vie for a victory in our last match against Himachal Pradesh,” he said.
Scorecard
Saurabh Tiwary’s unbeaten century led Jharkhand’s attempt to steal three points by overtaking Himachal Pradesh’s mammoth first-innings score. A half-century from Manish Vardhan and forties from Ishank Jaggi and Amir Hashmi helped Tiwary keep Jharkhand on track for most of the day. They had progressed to 293 for 3 with 16 overs left for stumps before losing three quick wickets and their way. Much now depends on Tiwary but with none of the other batsmen having averages to boast of, Himachal will fancy their chances on the final day.

The Plays of the day for the second day of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane

Peter English at the Gabba21-Nov-2008
Matthew Hayden’s 37-year-old legs are decidedly heavy © Getty Images
Heavy legs slow Hayden
Before his 99th Test Matthew Hayden gave a couple of convoluted answers toquestions about how long he would stay in the game. Following a stop-starttour of India, the heat on Hayden’s position continues to increase afterhis return of 8 and 0 in this game. Hayden was the victim of deliveriesgoing away both times, but the ball Chris Martin opened with on Fridayafternoon was pretty special as it caught the batsman’s push on the way toBrendon McCullum.One way to tell how well a player is dealing with age is to look at hisfootwork early in an innings. Hayden’s 37-year-old legs are decidedlyheavy and if he wants to extend his career to the Ashes he will need a bigcontribution in his 100th Test.Lee gets physical in Ryder fall
In an Australia-India series two pats on the helmet would probably earn amatch ban, but Jesse Ryder is unlikely to remember Brett Lee’s gentletaps. Ryder was crouched down after being struck in the groin by a Leedelivery and by the time the bowler extended his follow-through he hadstarted to feel slightly sorry for his conquest. Fortunately for Ryder, itwas the end of the over. He needed the extra time to recover.Run, Michael , run
There are kite runners, quotes runners, marathon runners and now hatrunners. In Australia’s bid to improve their over-rate they have employedMichael Hussey at times to run from gully to the bowler, who is usually atfine-leg, pick up his cap, take it to the umpire and jog back to hisfielding position. It’s an exercise that saves a few seconds but addsabout 50 metres on Hussey’s GPS. Australia delivered 25 overs beforelunch, five behind the expected rate, and another 20 before the inningsended in the second session.Gabba weathers storm season
The Gabba’s reputation as the best draining ground was confirmed againfollowing another vicious Brisbane storm on Thursday night. After sunseton day one the thunder and lightning arrived and the rain was so heavy itlooked like there was a blizzard in the stadium. Puddles formed almostimmediately and the wind blew the water around like a whirlpool. Moreshowers came through the night but by morning the ground was dry and playstarted on time. Storms are predicted over the next couple of days.Don’t tell the wife I’m at the cricket
Friday at the Gabba is a traditional day for a sickie and while the crowdwas on the small side at 11,886, there were still people hiding from thecameras, their bosses and their wives. One advertising representative, whothinks he might look like Mitchell Johnson, was enjoying his FerrisBueller’s Day Off from work and the family, spending time with his matesand being thankful that his wife actually knows he’s off to the World Cuprugby league final across town on Saturday night. Two days of lies, andleaving the stadium to make quiet phone calls, takes too much effort.

Worcestershire’s bowlers bounced back in impressive style from their weekend semi-final mauling in dismissing Kent for 260

ECB Reporters Network19-Jun-2017
ScorecardJoe Leach’s early spell set an impressive tone for Worcestershire•Getty ImagesWorcestershire’s bowlers bounced back in impressive style from their weekend semi-final mauling in dismissing Kent for 260 on day one of the Specsavers County Championship promotion battle at New Road.But then Kent responded themselves with the ball despite a boundary-laced cameo from England all-rounder Moeen Ali as Worcestershire closed on 95 for 3.The home side, who conceded 363 runs in the Royal London One-Day Cup clash with Surrey, may have feared the worse after Kent skipper Sam Northeast won the toss on a good batting wicket in the blazing heat.Skipper Joe Leach and 19-year-old Josh Tongue in particular impressed with the ball and Kent, despite lower order resistance from Matt Coles and Adam Rouse, would have been disappointed to be bowled out in 73.1 overs.All of their batsmen except openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson got into double figures but no-one went past 50.As well as Leach and Tongue bowled, some of the shot selection of the Kent batsmen was questionable and their score was below-par.Leach bowled an inspired opening spell and sent back openers Bell-Drummond and Dickson during an initial burst of 7-3-7-2.Bell-Drummond nicked through to Daryl Mitchell at first slip and then Dickson tried to work the ball on the leg side and the ball struck his pads and bounced onto the stumps.Joe Denly drove Ed Barnard straight to Brett D’Oliveira at point and then Tongue bowled a fiery spell after lunch which accounted for Northeast and Will Gidman.In between Joe Weatherley wafted at a wide Leach and was caught behind and then Darren Stevens flat batted John Hastings straight into the hands of deep extra cover.Kent were then 139 for 7 but resistance came at last from Coles and Rouse who opted to counter-attack in adding 79 in 16 overs.It needed the return of Tongue to break the stand shortly before tea as Rouse provided Mitchell with a third catch and then Coles played back to Moeen Ali and was lbw.Leach finished with 3 for 42 to take his season’s wicket tally to 36 and Tongue, in his first season of senior cricket, 3 for 56 to move onto 24 victims.The wickets were soon tumbling when Worcestershire launched their reply and D’Oliveira failed to trouble the scorers before he was pouched at second slip off Stevens.Moeen was ultra aggressive in his approach with nine fours in his 37 off just 16 balls, a mixture of glorious cover drives and edges which just eluded the slip cordon.But then he fell for the three card trick and was caught at deep midwicket off Coles who then had opener Mitchell taken at third slip.The positive aspect for Worcestershire was Joe Clarke looking like he was returning to form during an unbeaten 34.He received good support from George Rhodes, in his first senior appearance of the season during an unbroken stand of 47.

In a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois has blasted Atletico Madrid for complaining about referees after loss.

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Real Madrid win after controversial Alvarez callSimeone complains about the referee's decisionCourtois 'fed up of victimhood' by Atletico MadridFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Real Madrid have done what they do best in the Champions League: persevere. Los Blancos survived city rivals Atletico Madrid's onslaught at Wanda Metropolitano as the hosts took an early lead via Conor Gallagher and dominated the clash. However, Carlo Ancelotti's side were able to drag the game into a penalty shootout, which Los Blancos won as Julian Alvarez saw his spot kick disallowed for a 'double kick'.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone later criticised the referee's decision to review Alvarez's penalty and claimed that his Argentinian striker did not initiate double contact with the ball during his spot kick. Real Madrid keeper Cortouis has now hypocritically claimed that he is 'fed up' with the Rojiblancos' 'victimhood', just weeks after his side launched a campaign against La Liga referees for not giving decisions in their favour.

Getty Images SportWHAT COURTOIS SAID

Speaking to the media, Courtois said: "I'm always fed up with that victimhood, always crying over things like that. Referees don't want to benefit a team, neither in Spain nor in Europe; they saw it clearly, and they called it that way. They're human, and with technology, they saw it clearly. If you're winning 1-0 in the first minute and don't go for the second, that's the fault of their game.

"In the end, it was a lottery. I felt like it was a double, and I told the referee. It's not easy to see, and it's bad luck for them. Then it was bad luck for me that Correa didn't get it out. We didn't play our best game, but we got through, and that's what matters."

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WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

Ancelotti's side have now booked their place in the Champions League quarterfinal, and they will now take on Mikel Arteta's Arsenal on April 8. However, before that, they will have to contend with the challenges of La Liga as they remain second on the table despite Barcelona having played one game fewer than them.